My senses trickled back to me slowly. Before I could see I heard a brand-new pair of voices. One was male and one was female, but it wasn't Mors or Maddie.

"...here to make sure everything's going smoothly," the man said.

"She sliced her own throat open," the woman replied sarcastically, "I don't think she's going to get up and attack me."

Wait a second... That was Lila! That bitch was supposed to dump my body somewhere so that I could go home! She wasn't supposed to abduct my corpse from the crime scene! She was in for a treat once I got my hands on her!

"How's the family anyway?" The man asked.

"Good," Lila replied in her stupidly sweet voice. "Terrance is doing work experience and Enzo seems to be doing well in his ATAR classes."

Oh, this family just couldn't get enough of hurting my family, could it? First, Enzo murders Mr Snuggles. Then he harasses me for most of my high school life. Then Terrance breaks Jade's heart. And now Lila has abducted me for science. I didn't even want to know what Mr Gilroy had planned for us.

"What about you Richard?" Lila asked. "I'm sure that new girlfriend of yours is lovely."

The audacity! These two were having a normal conversation with what they thought was a dead body right next to them! Because that's not fucking insane!

"She's well," Dicko – as I have decided to call him instead of Richard – replied nonchalantly. "Her son's a bit of a problem child though. Hasn't liked me since the very beginning."

"Why do you think that is?" Lila asked.

I mean, are they kidding me!? Just having a lovely chit chat while the bitch that sliced her neck open decomposes! No big deal! What kind of sickos were they if they were so calm about having a dead body in the room!?

"I don't know," Dicko answered. "Although I swear, he does everything on purpose just to get a rise out of me and make me look bad in front of his Mum."

There was no way, no way this was real! They had to know I wasn't actually dead! No, they wanted me to give myself away! Well, it wasn't going to happen. I was going to be as still and quiet as I could muster. It was the only reasonable explanation I could think of at least.

My sight returned to me, and I tried not to cringe at whatever bright light there was hanging over my face. I dared to peak through my eyelids and saw that both of them were facing the opposite direction. Good, I thought. Now I can figure out how to get out of here. Easier said than done.

I glanced around the room and saw nothing but cupboards, draws and tools for whatever examination they had planned. And to add to that, I reached the horrific conclusion that I was butt naked underneath their blanket. Yay me.

"Well anyway," Lila sighed, "I managed to get some information from her DNA."

"Like what?" Dicko asked.

"Well, for starters it's not like anything I've ever seen," Lila replied.

They were preoccupied with their experiments, so I slowly took my hand out from under the blanket, careful not to make a lot of noise.

"I immediately found some strange chemical," Lila pulled out a needle. "And this chemical doesn't exist. There are no records of any chemicals with this structure."

Dicko and Lila examined the murky white liquid within the needle. I looked to my right and saw a tray, with a series of medical equipment on it. There was a few knives, I assumed to be for dissecting or examining dead animals. There was only one that looked like I could use it.

"What's the structure?" Dicko asked. "Is it an odd chemical bond?"

"Sort of," Lila replied. "The bonds are covalent. However, the chemical itself has half the atomic mass of hydrogen."

I slowly moved my arm to the tray, making sure to not make any noise. Easier said than done. The only knife that looked like that right size was at the furthest point on the tray.

"I'm not following," Dicko said.

"The protons, neutrons and electrons are half the size they're supposed to be," Lila explained. "It requires a massive amount of energy that is damn near impossible to achieve in order to do that."

I slowly moved my hand so that it was a centimetre above the other knives and tools.

"I tested the chemical on one of the rats and the strangest thing happened," Lila went on. "All of their internal organs melted so that it was just skin filled with blood. Flora should have died as soon as this chemical appeared in her DNA."

I stretched my arm as far as I could, my fingers brushing against the handle.

"So?" Dicko responded in a questioning tone.

"So, she's just as immortal as her Mother was."

And with that, I gave up on being quiet and discreet. I grabbed the knife, making a loud sound and threw it before either of them had the chance to react. It landed in the middle of Lila's throat; a choking sound escaped her lips as she fell to the ground twitching. I turned to Dicko and watched as he grabbed the needle, stuffed it in his pocket and ran out as fast as he could. Wimp, I thought.

I grabbed one of the smaller knives and used it to cut the thread they used to sew my neck back together. Hurt like a bitch, but I'll live.

I used the blanket to cover myself and searched through the cupboards and draws. It took a while, but I eventually found what I was looking for. I quickly put my Nangidon uniform back on, and took my switchblade out, choosing not to put it in my shoe this time. It was still caked in blood, but it'd have to do. I then found my bag and pulled my phone out to look at the date and time. A whole day had passed, and I had a bunch of messages from Ciara.

All of Ciara's messages were just telling me that she hoped I got better soon. Apparently, the school had been informed that Zak and I were home sick. Zak! I quickly clicked on his contact and held the phone to my ear. Eventually, he picked up.

"Flo?" A voice belonging to none other than Zak asked. "Flo is that you? I thought you were–"

"Look, it's a very long story that I don't have time to explain right now," I answered. "Where are you?"

"I did what you told me, and I ran," Zak explained. "Ended up hiding out in some hotel. If you run from the Clark Corporations building and past the nearest coffee shop you should find it."

"Okay I'm on my way," I replied. "I promise I will explain everything once I get there. Okay?"

"Okay," Zak sighed. "But you better give me the whole story."

"I will," I said.

Outside the door I could hear a series of loud footsteps. Dicko got back up.

"I have to go, bye," I hung up immediately.

I swung my bag over my shoulder and took the knife from Lila's throat. I didn't have time to think. I just needed to come up with a quick and simple strategy. I couldn't see any windows, so that wasn't an option. The only way out was through the door. So, I really only had one option.

I held onto the two blades tightly. There was no way I could take on who knows how many grown adults. It was suicide! The smell of blood filled my nostrils. I looked to see Lila was still pouring out blood from her mouth and neck. I did that. I just killed someone! And my only way out of here was to kill a bunch of others! This was never what I planned.

They were people. They had families. Lila had a family! I fucking knew her family! My sister dated her son for Pete's sake! No. No I was most definitely not prepared to have so much blood on my hands. But I had to. I couldn't think of them as people. They threatened Zak. They watched me for my whole life. They had abducted my dead body to do experiments on me!

The door flew open, and I saw a group of five armed men. Instinct took over. It was like some other force was controlling my body and I just watched. It was almost surreal. To watch as I did what I did.

I launched myself at the closest person, slicing their throat open without a seconds hesitation. But I understood now. They were a government run corporation. Therefore, they had access to guns. So, just as they dropped to the floor a searing pain shot through my upper left arm. I had been shot.

The person to my right was about to do the same when I grabbed hold of the other persons arms and threw them over myself. I rolled over the person I threw and kicked the other gunman in the shin, knocking him over and stabbing his throat.

The two others were about to attack when I held each blade up to their throats. I was panting, there were drops of blood on my hands, and I had just killed three complete strangers. The reality of the situation settled in, and whatever possessed my body to do such a thing left.

The two others held their arms up in defeat, dropping their weapons. But I didn't care. Not after what they did to me, and what they almost did to Zak. They fell to the ground with their necks sliced open seconds later.

I looked at the scene around me. I was standing over five dead bodies, with a sixth only a couple of metres away. I killed all of these people. I felt a heavy weight form in my chest at the thought. Yeah, I'd beaten a few people up before, but to actually kill someone was another thing. They had families. There was probably a little kid at home, wondering why their parents weren't back from work yet.

I shook my head. I couldn't think like that. These were some very bad people. They were willing to do anything for some miracle cure that probably couldn't even be made. There were already COVID-19 vaccines that worked. They didn't need to make their own! Or make a miracle cure! They were willing to hold me, and even Zak, hostage for a cure that the world didn't even need!

I put the blades into my skirt so that the handles were poking out. I probably didn't have long, but I looked through my bag to see if there was anything of use in there. I found a pen and ripped a piece of paper out of my book. I went over to the table and quickly scribbled in my cursive handwriting.

Go to Hell!

It wasn't much, but in the case that Mr Clark, or even Avdo came by, they'd get the message. I am no lab rat.

I turned and saw that no one was coming. I could probably make an escape through somewhere. I followed the corridor, walking slowly and quietly. I was surprised by how few people I saw. But what surprised me even more, was how much of a maze the building was on the inside.

I'd turn the corner and see another long corridor, with only a few hallways coming off of that. And it was quiet. Much too quiet for a lab that just had one of their experiments escape. I was on high alert.

I listened intently and I heard it. It was quiet. They were trying to be stealthy but failed at surprising me. Two pairs of footsteps came up behind me. Of course, I had over anticipated how far away they were. I turned and they were almost right on me.

I quickly pulled out the blades and went to attack the one closer to me, but they were faster. However, it seemed they underestimated my ability to fight back.

They grabbed onto my arms and pushed them down so that I couldn't hit anywhere fatal. But they clearly didn't think that move through, seeing as we were in a narrow corridor, and I weighed a lot less than them. I stepped onto the walls and threw myself over them, kicking the second person in the face. I managed to twist myself around so that I was on my feet and holding the first one down. I repeatedly kicked them in the face and freed my arms from their grip. I slashed the second persons throat as they got to their feet and stabbed the other in the neck.

There was no time to waste. I couldn't be sneaky and quiet if I wanted to be out of there by tonight. Especially not with people coming at me from every which way. I needed a better strategy than to be quiet. They probably had cameras that I couldn't see. They probably had people hiding at every corner. I had to figure out how I was getting out of there, and fast.

Then I saw the first window. The building had a strange design. Made almost entirely out of windows from the outside, but with colourful metals wrapping around it with holes... That was it! My way out! It was just like when Zak and I went rock climbing with Ciara! Only without the rope. And the people that worked there weren't invulnerable like I was. They couldn't try without a chance of death.

I smiled. I walked slowly at first, so that if there were cameras the people watching wouldn't know I had a plan. I couldn't give myself away or they'd send a herd of people after me. And it seemed to work, at least I think so. Because when I past a corner only one person popped out with a weapon. But I had anticipated their presence. I grabbed onto their head and bashed it into the glass, creating a large fracture in the window.

I released them and they dropped to the ground cradling their head. I quickly made the decision to kick their weapon away from them before kicking the window several times. Eventually, the glass gave way and the whole thing smashed. But obviously someone was watching, because I could now hear countless footsteps head towards me, along with loud yelling.

I only had one chance to do this. I looked down and saw that I was very high up off the ground. Immortal or not, that drop still looked incredibly painful. I took a deep breath to calm myself. I needed to get it together. If I didn't, I would lose focus and definitely fall all the way down.

I shook my head and jumped. I quickly latched onto the metal and screamed out. One thing I hadn't accounted for was the blistering heat of early autumn. My hands and arms burned, and I wailed out. I started panting and tried to calm myself down. I wasn't out of the woods yet.

I heard pinging and looked up to see three people pointing what I could only assume were loaded guns at me. Unfortunately for the Clark Corporation, they had worse aim than the clone army. Even so, I tried to climb down as fast as I could. Probably not a smart idea, but my life was literally hanging in the balance.

I climbed down, grunting as the sun-soaked metal burnt my hands. But that wasn't the worst thing that happened to them. There was a shattering sound, and then a piercing pain in my right hand. I screamed out and let go of the metal. My hand was covered in blood from where I had obviously been shot. I looked behind myself and saw that there was a small group of people at every second window.

I was beginning to hyperventilate. My heart hammered in my chest. I was never gonna make it out. I was going to be stuck there for the rest of my life. Which, I didn't even know if it had an end anymore. I would be stuck there as a guinea pig for all of eternity. I squeezed my eyes shut. My eyes were stinging but I refused to let myself cry.

I took a few breaths and continued to climb down. At every ping I would flinch away. I was starting to tremble with only a few storeys between myself and the ground floor. But it became increasingly difficult as my arms grew tired, and their aim got better. I slipped as a bullet flew into my calf. I was lucky to catch myself almost immediately. But I needed to get out of there. Even if I hadn't reached the bottom yet.

So, with only one storey to go and a smashed window behind me, I formulated a new plan. I instead jumped through the window and knocked the first gunman over. I took out my switchblade and threw it into the second ones neck. However, there was a third person that I didn't see.

They grabbed me and picked me up so that I couldn't get out of their grip. I kicked around but it was useless. My shoulder, hand, and calf had all been shot and it hurt way too much to wriggle free. I was beginning to tire, but there was no way I was being anyone's experiment.

"You're a little fighter," the first gunman said. "Too bad really."

I heard what sounded like a click and then saw what I could only assume was some fancy government gun at me.

"You really need to stop underestimating my persistence," I said with a smirk before launching myself up as hard as I could in spite of my leg to kick the gun out of their hands. I managed to kick them back and used my momentum to roll forward and get out of their grip. I took the knife from the lab out of my skirt and sliced their neck open before doing the same to the first gunman.

I picked their gun from the ground and looked at it curiously. I'd never seen one before and it was so strange to think about anyone in Australia having one. I understood that this was a government sanctioned pharmaceutical, but it was still so weird. I wasn't even sure how it was supposed to be used, or how the mechanics of it worked.

But I was pulled from my thoughts as someone ran up the stairs at the other end of the corridor to run after me. As soon as they got close, instincts kicked in and I hit them in the face with the gun before realising I had somehow shot them. I didn't know how I did it, and I didn't even realise I was doing I until I heard the bang and saw them drop to the ground.

I decided against taking the gun with me. It was much too unpredictable, and I had no idea how it worked. I took the switchblade and medical knife, putting them back into my skirt.

Everyone would know where I was, and they were probably planning on coming to me. So, I did what any smart girl would do and jumped back out of the window. The shooting pain in my shoulder, hand, and calf almost made me slip again, but I managed to hold on tight. I could see that the ground floor was mainly vacant and chose then to break that window.

There was only one person there, and I chose to just run out of the building rather than attack. Twelve dead bodies was enough.

The sun was starting to set, and the streets were empty, but I found the coffee shop Zak mentioned and ran right past it.